Gold falls on strong U.S. manufacturing data

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Tuesday as data showed U.S. manufacturing expanded in August at its strongest pace in more than three years.

The most active gold contract for December delivery lost 22.4 U. S. dollars, or 1.74 percent, to settle at 1,265 dollars per ounce.

Upbeat U.S. manufacturing data weighed on gold. A report by the Institute for Supply Management showed Tuesday an index of national factory activity rose to 59.0 in August. It is the highest level since March 2011 and beat market expectations. Any measure above 50 indicates that manufacturing is growing.

However, geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and a slight slip in the U.S. stock market have buffered gold's fall.

Silver for December delivery lost 34 cents, or 1.74 percent, to close at 19.152 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery dropped 15.8 dollars, or 1.11 percent, to close at 1408.9 dollars per ounce.